the devil's name
by ShadowsOnTheMoon
Summary: When Spencer gets too close to the truth, the A-Team takes drastic measures to minimize the damage. With their best friend missing, Aria, Hanna, and Emily need to work together to find her - or risk losing her forever. [Prequel to 'the devil you know'.]
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, Liars! Welcome to the first chapter of yet another story, because I may have a slight addiction to writing fanfic for this show. This one is one the shorter side, but there will be two other stories to follow it, which collectively make up my 'devils' series. There are a few things you need to know before you start to read. This is AU, so most of the girls' secrets haven't come out yet - so Emily hasn't come out, Aria hasn't told them about Ezra, Hanna hasn't been busted for shoplifting, Spencer never came clean about her thing with Ian. And, most importantly, they don't know who A is. It starts off pretty heavy but it's not all this dark and horrible, I promise. So, favorite, follow, review, and join me on this journey.**

**Shoutout to my two Sarahs for letting me run the first chapter by them, and for putting up with my ranting and rambling in general.**

**Here we go...**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Waking from a dream, Spencer Hastings found herself plunged into a nightmare.

Her mind was still full of images of flowers and waterfalls and gently whispering winds, but her eyes were seeing something else entirely. Her bedroom door was open, not the way she'd left it, and there was a shadow, something too dark and sinister to be part of the room, and it was moving toward her. She was on her feet in a second. Whatever it was, she wasn't going to let it catch her lying down.

The shadow stiffened at her movements, drawing back, startled – or maybe merely strategizing. Perhaps they hadn't expected such resistance, such quick thinking, such forceful movements, and were now trying to regroup. She reached behind her, feeling for something, anything –

A letter opener. Real silver, just sharp enough to draw blood. She clenched her hand around it, holding it behind her back, her eyes never straying from the shadow. But the problem with shadows is that they're never really there, and a second is all it takes for them to disappear.

She blinked, and it was gone. She took a step forward, peering into the darkness. Was the shadow really gone, or had it just merged with the other shadows, hidden from her sight but still watching her with unseen, all-seeing eyes?

"Hello?" she called tentatively.

There was no point trying to hide. It was already here, and there was no choice but to face it. That would be easier to do, of course, if she could see it. And after half a minute staring into the gloom, something moved. It was just a flash, a flicker, in the corner of her eyes, and she spun around, but it was already gone.

The bright green numbers on her digital clock told her that it was twelve minutes after one, but she felt wide awake. Everything was on high alert, her heart hammering, her synapses firing at full speed, ready for fight or flight – god, was she ready. The second she saw movement, she lunged. If she could catch it off-guard, if she could get one step ahead –

But you can't outwit a shadow, you can't outsmart it, and sometimes you can't escape it.

She stumbled forward, seeming to trip on the darkness itself, like evil had manifested and become something solid, and then the darkness hit her, knocking the letter opener from her hand. It skidded across the floor, out of reach, and then the darkness was rising, in front of her, and she saw Ali's face.

There was a person before her, and they seemed to be made of darkness, but the light streaming in the window glinted off the mask they wore, that horrible caricature of her dead friend. She stared at it for just a moment too long, enough to give the shadow – the person – the advantage.

The person, the one with Ali's face and the black hood and the ability to meld into darkness, reached out. Grabbed her with a grip so hard she let out a surprised whimper. Spun her around and pushed her up against the wall, ignoring her startled cry.

"Don't scream," they whispered in her ear.

"What if I do?" she shot back, all her bravery dissipating in the night, fading into nothing more than indignant terror.

She felt metal press against her neck, cold and unyielding, and it was enough to ensure her silence. She bit her lip, hard enough to draw blood, as the figure tied her hands behind her back, with rope that burned almost as much as the terrified anger in her heart.

"Come with me," the figure commanded, turning her around and marching her toward the door.

"Like I have a choice," she muttered, but her attempt at humor did nothing to relieve the tension.

Spencer found herself being led through her house, her own house, where her parents and sister were sleeping soundly, unaware that she was being taken. She could call out, she could try to wake them, but she wasn't willing to bet her life that they'd get here in time.

It was cold outside, and her first thought when the door swung open was that she should have brought a sweater. Of course she couldn't bring a sweater, she was being abducted. She would have laughed at her own inappropriate thought, but there was no time. The figure hadn't let go of her, and it pushed her onward, toward a waiting car.

They came to a stop in front of it, and while the figure fumbled in their pockets for the keys, she looked back at the house. Safety was close enough to reach, but too risky to try. The figure could kill her before she'd even taken a step; she had a feeling the letter opener was not the most dangerous weapon at their disposal.

"Get in," the figure growled, shoving her toward the back. "Lie down."

She complied, curling up on the back seat with her heart in her throat and her hands still tied behind her. The figure obviously didn't want her to work out where they were going, but maybe they didn't know she'd be able to keep track anyway. She closed her eyes, focusing on the way the car felt beneath her, every turn and acceleration, every stop and roundabout. But twenty minutes into the drive, she realized she wasn't as clever as she'd thought. The figure, the one who came from darkness, was one step ahead. They'd doubled back and turned around so much that she had no idea where she was.

After the longest ride of her life, the car rolled to a stop and the door near her feet opened.

"Sit up," said the figure, and, "Get out."

As soon as she sat up the figure hauled her to her feet and took her toward the house. It wasn't one she knew, and as she glanced up and down the street she didn't see any recognizable landmarks. As she was forced up to the house, she tried to look at the figure, but all she could see was the mask. The voice sounded familiar, or maybe it was just the way the voice of a black-hooded figure sounded in her mind: low, menacing, almost as dark as the night around them.

The door was pushed open, and she was pushed inside, and then the door was closed and locked behind her.

She was alone, and she was probably going to die.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Say what you will, but you can't accuse me of having a slow first chapter. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, and thanks for the great response to my first chapter.**

**Shoutout to ****missdallywinston**** because the day you wrote that review, I was actually considering giving up on an original project I've been working on - but your encouragement helped me get back on track. And in answer to a question by the lovely ****tobyequalshottness****, Spoby is indeed canon in this AU, however as you will see in this chapter, it's not quite the Spoby you're used to - but there will be interaction between the two (next chapter, in fact) so I hope you'll stick with it.**

**Okay. That's all. I'll update when I get ten reviews for this chapter, or by the end of the weekend - whichever happens first. So get reviewing, hit me with your theories, and I'll see you all next time.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

It was still cold outside when Aria Montgomery left for school. She wrapped herself in her thickest jacket, warmed her hands on a cup of coffee, and sat in her car for ten minutes before she worked up the energy to start driving. By then she could just about feel her fingers, and by the time she got to school the worst of the chill had faded.

She'd had a sleepless night, and even her morning cup of coffee hadn't eased most of the tiredness. Maybe if she'd had a cup of _Spencer's_ coffee, that would have been enough to wake her up; but with her coffee it was a fine line between being woken up and being sent into cardiac arrest.

Her friends were already there when she arrived – well, two of them were, anyway. Hanna Marin, looking fabulous as ever, her hair tastefully curled and her makeup perfect. Beside her was Emily Fields, her hair still wet from her morning swim, sipping her green tea and trying to cram for the History test she had first period.

"Morning," Aria said cheerily, sitting down across from them.

Emily looked up, nodded, and went back to her readings. Hanna reapplied her lip gloss and rolled her eyes. "All right, what are you on?"

"What?"

"Nobody is naturally that cheery in the morning," Hanna said, looking at Aria suspiciously.

Aria shrugged, spreading her hands out to indicate that she had nothing to hide. "I guess I just had a good night."

"What were you -"

Hanna stopped talking as her boyfriend walked up. He was all smiles and easy good humor, and he greeted Emily and Aria with a friendly wave, before pulling Hanna to her feet and greeting her in a much more intimate fashion.

"You know what," Hanna said, reaching for her purse and wrapping her arm around Caleb's waist, "I don't care why you're so happy today. Everyone deserves to be happy in the morning."

"Or all night long, on Spencer's nana's couch at her lake house, in your case," Emily teased.

"Hey." Hanna pointed her stick of lip gloss at Emily, giving her a stern look. "We promised we wouldn't say anything to her. Ka-quiche?"

Emily and Aria exchanged a look.

"Do you mean _kapeesh_?" the dark-haired swimmer supplied.

"Whatever," Hanna said, waving her hand. "My point is, don't tell Spencer. All right?"

"Fine." Emily shrugged and flicked to the back of her book, muttering something about the Russian revolution under her breath as she scanned the index page with her finger.

"Where is Spencer, anyway?" Aria asked, looking around as if expecting their friend to show up from behind the brick pillar near their table.

"Beats me," Hanna said, unconcerned. "But if you see her, remind her that she's meant to be helping me study Chem tonight."

"Sure thing," Aria said, and Hanna and Caleb departed, arm-in-arm.

"So what _were_ you doing last night?" Emily asked, more absent than interested.

"It's personal," Aria replied guardedly. If Emily knew what she'd been doing last night… well, that wasn't a risk she was willing to take. The bell rang, and the two girls got to their feet, Emily still flicking through her book as they made their way to the lockers, while Aria breathed an internal sigh of relief that her friend hadn't pushed the issue.

By the time school ended, none of them had seen Spencer. Aria and Emily had, however, witnessed Hanna slipping into English ten minutes late, her hair messed up and her lipstick slightly smeared. When they gave her questioning looks, she just smiled, shrugged, and turned her attention to the front of the room.

"Have you tried calling Spence?" Emily asked that afternoon as they drove over to The Brew, their usual after-school hangout. "It's not like her to ditch school."

"I've called her twice, and left her three messages," Aria said, shrugging out of her jacket and tossing it onto the backseat. The later in the day it got, the fewer layers she needed. The sun didn't look all that bright, but it was more than enough to cause her to break a sweat – although maybe it wasn't just the sun that was responsible for that.

"I tried calling a couple of times too. Maybe she just got busy or something," Hanna suggested. "If she's not at The Brew, we can always swing by her house."

The other two agreed, but Aria couldn't help a pinprick of worry from stabbing at her heart. She pushed it away as they went inside and sat at their usual booth, and as she sipped on her butterscotch latte she began to feel better. She'd almost finished when the door to The Brew swung open, and she saw a very familiar blue-eyed boy walk through.

"Toby!" she called, beckoning him over.

He paused on his way over to the counter, seeming surprised at being called. "Hi Aria," he said, coming to a stop in front of them. "Emily, Hanna. Where's Spencer?"

"We were hoping you knew," Aria said, sharing a look with her friends. "She didn't show up to school today, so we thought maybe she was with you."

"I haven't seen her all day," Toby said apologetically. "And I'm actually heading off to a job now, so -"

"Sorry," Emily said. "Don't let us keep you. But… let us know if you hear anything from her, all right?"

"Of course." He left them with a smile, bought his coffee to go, and was out of there in under five minutes.

Aria watched the door swing closed behind him, unaware of the fact that in his bag was a mask of her dead friend's face, nestled snugly between a length of rope and a letter opener.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Well then. What do you think's going on?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Word to the wise for you Spoby shippers: all hope is not lost.**

**As always, thank you for the reviews, I'm glad some people are reading this at least. So if you're reading, please review; it's rather disheartening to think that people aren't liking this/are losing interest, so a simple review can really help make my day. I love when people review every chapter, because you regulars are my favorites (and in exchange maybe I can be persuaded to give you hints/answers/previews).**

**Okay. Enough chitchat. Here you go.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Sometime during the night, Spencer had a visitor.

When they came, she was in one of the corners, working on using a broken piece of wood to loosen the ropes on her wrists. As soon as she heard the door creak open she immediately closed her eyes and slumped against the wall, acting like she'd just fallen asleep in the most logical place – the corner furthest from the door. Whoever came into the room seemed to buy it, because they didn't mention anything as they walked over and pulled her to her feet.

Pretending to wake up, she let out a tired moan as the person started leading her across the room, toward the single piece of furniture: an old wooden chair. The figure gestured for her to turn around, and she did. She felt a slight pressure on her hands, and then the ropes fell to the floor. For a second she considered making a break for it; an elbow to the ribs, a knee to the stomach. Maybe that would be enough.

But before she could do anything, the figure – the same one from earlier, wearing the same mask – pushed her, carefully yet forcefully lowering her into the chair. She sat down, her legs shaking, unable to resist as the figure tied her arms to the chair. She held her tongue, hopeful that at least she would be able to avoid being gagged. She could ask who this person was, but there was no way they would tell her, not if they were as dark as they seemed. So her best bet seemed to be just to act compliant until she found a better opportunity.

The figure finished securing her, and then hesitated only a moment before they left her, once again, alone.

When they came back, she really was sleeping. Her head snapped up when she heard the door, though, and she was instantly awake. It was morning now, she could tell by the sunlight slipping through the half-closed window, but it wasn't like the morning after a nightmare. The sunlight didn't make the demons fade; the singing birds couldn't block out the noise of footsteps across the hardwood floor. The figure approached, and she could do nothing but stare.

This was not some mysterious person behind a mask, a nameless shadow, a faceless monster. This was something so much worse.

"Toby." The name was not a name but a question, a plea for an explanation. It tasted sour on her tongue. She swallowed, waiting for a response.

Upon hearing his name, he bowed his head slightly, coming to a stop before her. He opened his mouth, closed it again, looked at the ropes holding his girlfriend to the chair. He made no move to untie her.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer asked.

Toby lowered his eyes and started moving around the room, checking the walls for weaknesses, for signs of an attempted escape. He lingered longest in the corner, examining the piece of wood she'd been trying to use to untie herself. When he came back around in front of her, the truth was as plain as his eyes were blue.

"You're not here to save me." This was not a question. It was a statement, falling from her tongue like a stone.

He was standing before her, clad in a black hoodie, his blue eyes bright as always but somehow darker. He looked at her, not saying a word. She understood that it had been him, it had all been him. Toby, her Toby, had been the one to sneak into her house last night. He had kidnapped her, threatened her, brought her here. He had betrayed her in the worst possible way.

"I'm sorry, Spencer," he said, and she closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. "I didn't want to do this."

"Then why did you?" Her eyes flickered open, unable to look away even though the sight of him, in the black hoodie, the glint of metal in his hand showing that he had a knife up his sleeve… it was too much.

"I can't tell you that." Toby came over to her and she shrank back, but all he did was rest a gloved hand on her cheek. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Get away from me," she said, jerking her head away.

Toby withdrew his hand, and the darkness in his eyes seemed to lessen, for just a fraction of a second. There seemed to be tenderness there, but this was no place for such things.

"You're A, aren't you?" Spencer said, and even without a response she knew she was right. For months she and her friends had been tormented by this mysterious figure, this 'A', someone who wanted to hurt them.

"You know the answer to that," Toby said quietly. "You know I am. But you don't know why."

"Then tell me."

He looked as if he was going to, but at that moment the door opened again, and another black hooded figure walked in. This one was smaller, but from the way she walked into the room it was clear that she was in charge. Her face was obscured by her hood, which she kept carefully lowered. She gestured to Toby, who walked over to her, and the two conversed in low voices, completely ignoring the girl tied up in front of them.

Spencer glanced down at the ropes. They were tight, the knots strong, but it didn't look impossible. If she moved at the right angle, if she kept at it, she might be able to get out of this.

Toby looked up at her and she froze, a rabbit in the headlights. Then he just smiled, ever so slightly, in a way that was meant to be reassuring but came off as intimidating. Spencer watched as he and the other figure left, and then she turned her attention back to the ropes. She wasn't going to sit around here waiting for someone to save her. She was going to do it herself.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Again I ask: what is going on?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry guys. School is hell. Your reviews are lovely. Keep 'em coming and I'll update when I can. Enjoy the chapter.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

"You're sure?" Hanna asked, sitting down on the end of Aria's bed. Emily was already there, cross-legged and fiddling with Aria's stuffed pig toy.

"I'm sure." Aria looked down at her phone, tallying up the calls and texts. "I've called her at least ten times. I went round to her house after school, and she wasn't there. She's not responding to texts, emails, anything."

"So what are we saying? Do you think A might have…?" Emily trailed off, too uncomfortable to even voice the thought that A, their omniscient tormentor, might have had something to do with this.

"I don't want to jump to conclusions," Aria said cautiously, "but it's not like Spencer to disappear like this. Not without telling us first."

"And Toby didn't know where she was either," Hanna added, "so it's not like the two of them decided to start the weekend early and head down to her lake-house or anything."

"So she's not with us, and she's not with Toby," Emily summarized. "As far as we know, nobody's seen her since – when was the last time we saw her?"

"I didn't see her after lunch yesterday," Hanna said. "We weren't in the same classes."

"I was. She was in class." Aria folded her arms around herself, lost in thought. If she hadn't been so busy with Ezra last night – Ezra, their _English teacher_ – she might have taken Spencer up on her offer to sleep over. She might have been able to stop whatever had happened, or at the very least been able to find out what it was. But no, she was at Ezra's all night, and she couldn't even tell her friends because they didn't know she was dating anyone, let alone their teacher.

"So something happened sometime after school finished," Emily said. "Something that means she didn't turn up to school today, and isn't trying to get in touch with any of us."

"What would cause her to do that, though?" Aria asked. "This is _Spencer_ we're talking about. She almost hyperventilated that time she was stuck in traffic and ended up five minutes late for school. There's no way she'd miss an entire day of school without at least telling us what was going on."

"Maybe she was following a clue," Hanna suggested, but she didn't sound like she believed it herself. "You know, she found out something about A, and she's trying to track them down."

"She's too smart to do something like that by herself," Emily said, as much to reassure as to convince them. "She would have taken one of us with her, or at the very least told us where she was going."

Aria got to her feet and started pacing, an idea tugging at the edges of her mind. She tried to focus on it, but it kept dancing out of her reach. Hanna and Emily kept talking, bouncing theories back and forth, but it washed over Aria. Suddenly the idea not only tugged at the corners but unrolled a page in her mind, and there it was.

"Maybe she did tell us," Aria said. "Come on."

Her two startled friends wordlessly followed her out the door and to her car, and five minutes later they were pulling up outside Spencer's house. Her parents weren't there, as per usual, but the girls knew where the spare key was. Aria led the way inside and up to Spencer's room, and only then did she stop to explain.

"What if she left us a clue in her room?" Aria asked, gesturing to where they were standing. Everything was so neat and tidy; study notes stacked and organized by subject, books in alphabetical order, clothes grouped by color. If she'd left something, it shouldn't be too hard to find it. "Maybe she didn't have time to call us, or maybe she didn't take her phone with her. But she could have left a note or something, so if we just look…"

But looking proved fruitless, and after fifteen minutes of searching they gave up, more dejected than ever. Aria lay down on Spencer's bed, after searching in the pillowcases; it would be just like Spencer to hide something there. But there was nothing there, no sign anywhere of what had happened to their friend.

"It was a good thought, Aria," Emily said gently, sitting down beside her.

Hanna kept going through Spencer's desk drawers, looking under piles of paper and miscellaneous stationery items for any clue as to their friend's whereabouts.

"I just don't like the thought of not knowing what happened to her," Aria said, looking outside. It was dark now, and the streetlight outside the window was broken, so the street was completely dark. Anyone – anything – could be lurking out there. She shivered, turning back inside. "We have to be able to do something. She didn't take her car, so maybe she didn't go that far. Or maybe she didn't want to be followed."

"She could have taken a cab," Emily said, thinking, "or a train or bus. Or walked, if it was close enough."

"But we still don't know where she would have gone," Hanna pointed out, giving up on her search and sinking into the nearest chair, "or why."

"Which is why we should -" Aria broke off as a shrill beeping sounded throughout the room. It wasn't her phone, so she looked at the others, expecting one of them to answer it. But the noise kept on, and Hanna and Emily looked as confused as she was.

"Wait," Hanna said. "If that's not my phone, or yours…"

"It sounds like Spencer's," Emily said, frowning.

Aria was on her feet at once, trying to find the source of the sound. Spencer had left her phone behind; that explained a lot. It didn't explain where she was, or why, but it was _something_. The other two quickly joined the search, and just before the phone stopped ringing, Aria found it on the floor under Spencer's bed. She pounced on it, pressing Answer without giving herself a second to think. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end wasn't familiar; it sounded like it had been altered somehow. Someone really didn't want their identity known. But they did want to get their message across.

"We have Spencer. You have until midnight tomorrow to find her."

Before she had time to ask even a single question, the line went dead.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Next chapter is one of my favorites, so I'm excited to share it with you all. Stay tuned.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey all. Thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter; don't forget to let me know what you think.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

Once again, Spencer's escape attempts came to a stop when someone entered the room.

Part of her was hoping that it was going to be the other figure, the one with the small physique. But no, it was Toby, and this time he wasn't even wearing his black hoodie. She didn't know if that made her more nervous or if it was a good sign.

This time he focused his attention on her right away, but she wouldn't meet his eyes. She'd been here for almost twenty four hours, and there was nothing she wanted more than to get out of here and go back to her friends. Instead here she was. She had made some stupid decisions in her life, more wrong choices than she cared to admit, and she was cursing whichever ones had brought her here.

"Hi Spencer." His voice was gentle, but he may as well have been yelling for the effect it had on Spencer.

She looked down at her lap, chewing the inside of her cheek, and looking like she was trying not to care. She only looked up when he walked over to her and crouched down in front of her, and then she was forced to meet his eyes. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find, but the perceived darkness from the night before was gone. All she could see was concern, and what looked like love – but after what he'd done, she couldn't quite believe it was genuine.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She snorted. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask? Is it because my boyfriend kidnapped me and tied me to a chair? Why would that mean I'm not okay? This is exactly how I wanted to spend my day."

"Spencer." Toby straightened, squaring his shoulders before reaching down and starting to untie her. "Believe it or not, I'm here to help."

"Well, I don't believe it," she said, staying still as he worked at the very ropes he'd tied.

He flinched slightly, as if her words hurt him, but she knew how easy it was to feign emotions like that. He'd had been right under their noses this whole time, hiding in plain sight. How could she not have seen?

Toby didn't say anything as he worked, didn't try to defend himself. When Spencer's left hand was free she curled it into a fist, and Toby raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering if she was going to hit him.

"Once you untie me, what's to stop me from barging past you and heading for the door?"

"Well," Toby said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he started to untie her right hand, "for one thing it's locked, from the inside, and I'm the only one who has the key. For another thing, I could stop you. You may be quick, but I doubt you're as strong as I am."

"I could take you," Spencer said, but the way her voice wobbled ruined the intended effect of the statement.

It did, however, make Toby chuckle, and he sounded for a moment like the old Toby, the one she knew and loved.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, watching his nimble fingers work on the last rope.

"I can't tell you that." He pulled off the last of the rope, tucked it into his pocket, and stepped back.

"Then what's with this?" She raised her arms, indicating that they were now free of their restraints. "I'm guessing you're not just letting me go."

"I can't. But Mona wanted to -"

"Wait. _Mona_?"

Toby's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. The girls hadn't figured out who A was – they'd thought it was just one person, for a start – and he had just revealed his accomplice. His averted gaze was enough to confirm his words.

"You're working with Mona," Spencer said, slowly, testing the way the words sounded in her mouth. "You and Mona are A?"

Toby met Spencer's eyes for a minute, his hands trembling. Then he blinked, breaking their gaze, and stormed over to the nearest wall. Before Spencer could figure out what he was doing, he'd slammed his fist into the wall, letting out a grunt as fist met wood. He was breathing hard, and Spencer felt a flicker of fear. It wouldn't take much for him to turn that anger onto her.

But when he turned back to her, she could tell he was trying to contain his anger. "Spencer," he said, making his way over to her again. She still hadn't stood up, because she knew she had nowhere else to go. "I know you don't trust me, and I don't blame you for that. But I'm doing this to protect you. This was Mona's idea, not mine, and I'm going to do whatever I can to get you out of here."

"'Whatever you can'?" she echoed. "You have the key. You could just let me walk out of here."

He glanced at the door, seeming tempted for a split second, but then he shook his head. "I can't. Mona is watching. If she knows I'm the one who let you go -"

"Right. Wouldn't want to get _her_ mad at you. She could, what, throw an eyelash curler at you? Batter you with her tiny fists?"

Toby looked at her, torn between amusement and desperation. The latter won out. "Spencer, she's dangerous. She's the one who set all this up -"

"She's five feet tall," Spencer pointed out. "Are you telling me you really let her order you around?"

Toby folded his arms. He was wearing ripped jeans and a plaid shirt, like he'd just stepped out of a barn dance. But there was nothing remotely amusing about this situation. "It's more complicated than that."

At that moment his phone buzzed, and while he checked the message Spencer got to her feet, stretching her aching muscles. Spending an entire day tied to a chair was not good for her body.

"I have to go," Toby said, snapping his phone shut. "I left a glass of water and some food near the door for you, and I'll be back tonight."

He headed for the door, and Spencer watched him, feeling equal parts annoyed and confused. The terror had mostly gone, now she was reasonably sure she wasn't actually going to die, but she was still displeased with this whole situation. Toby paused with his hand on the doorknob, and she took this opportunity to speak.

"Toby." Her voice quivered ever so slightly, but she forced herself to say the words. "If you leave me here, don't bother coming back."

He hesitated, took a deep breath, and then walked out the door.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**This looks really bad, I know, but please don't give up on the story.**

**Next chapter is a turning point, and you're not going to want to miss it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi all, and thanks for the reviews. Shoutout to Stelena-Beautiful, who I think is a first-time reader of my stories, so welcome! So here's the next chapter, and I have a feeling you guys are gonna like it. So read, review, and I'll see you all soon!**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

With Spencer's words ringing in his ears, Toby made his way around the front of the house. _Shake it off_, he told himself, _you have to do this. _As he reached the driveway he saw a familiar figure, who beckoned to him before striding away.

"Mona, wait up." Toby jogged a few paces to catch up to her as she walked away from the house. She never seemed to hurry, but she was always busy, working on some plan or scheme or new torment for the girls.

She slowed down a little as they came to her car, just enough to unlock the doors and slide into the driver's seat. Toby sat down on the passenger side, and Mona locked the doors but didn't start the engine.

"You took a long time in there," Mona commented, pulling the hood away from her face and running her hand through her long, dark hair. The words were innocent enough, but there was suspicion behind them.

"I was just making sure everything was okay."

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Mona wasn't looking at him. Instead she'd pulled a small purse from her bag and was searching through it. She pulled out her lip gloss and reapplied it, looking at herself in the rear-view mirror. The color of her lips reminded him of blood.

Toby shifted in his seat, turning around so he could look at her properly. "No," he said, as firmly as he could manage. "But you know what she's like. I had to make sure she couldn't get out."

"Good." Mona snapped her purse shut and turned to face him. "Because you know what will happen if she does leave."

Toby nodded; he knew all too well what would happen. Mona had approached him three days ago, bearing the news that Spencer was onto them. She was close to figuring out who they were. "She knows too much," Mona had said, shaking her head sadly, "and we need to do something about it."

"So your plan is just to keep her here indefinitely?" Toby asked. He was simply the muscle in this operation; Mona was the brains behind this plan. He'd been told the bare minimum, just enough to convince him that he needed to kidnap his own girlfriend.

"Of course not," Mona said dismissively. "We just need her out of the way while we find some leverage. We need something to hold over her head, so she'll think twice if she ever decides to tell the girls what she's found."

"Which is what, exactly? What does she have on us?"

"She worked out who we are, Toby. If she tells the girls, it's game over for us. We can't very well torment them if they know it's us."

"Are you sure she even knew?" Toby glanced back at the house, trying not to think about what was inside, trying not to think about what he'd done. "She seemed surprised when she saw me."

"Of course she did. She's playing dumb, Toby. She thinks if she can convince us she doesn't know anything, we'll let her go." Mona started the engine then, pausing to give Toby a measured look before turning her attention back to the road and pulling out of the drive. "Besides, you know better than anyone how easy it is to fake something like that."

She was right, of course. Toby fell silent as Mona drove away from the house, humming something that sounded like a Christmas carol under her breath. For months now, Toby had been faking it. But he hadn't been faking his affections for Spencer. Those were real, undeniable and unavoidable. What he'd been pretending was his loyalty to Mona. She was usually perceptive, but he'd become so good at lying that she'd come to trust him, even sometimes allowing him to take the lead in their missions. He'd also become skilled at balancing his loyalty and his love: doing just enough to make sure Mona thought he was on her side, but not so much that he risked actually hurting any of the girls.

It was a dangerous game, trying to stay one step ahead of everyone, and he knew that if he so much as stumbled he'd lose. But the way Spencer had looked at him made him think that maybe he'd already lost. She thought he was really working with Mona, that he didn't love her and had just been playing her. Even if he managed to get her out of this, she would probably never trust him again. And if Mona found out that he had let her go, then _she_ wouldn't trust him. He had to figure out a way to help the girls find her, without drawing suspicion on himself.

"Where are we going?" he asked after a while, noticing that they were driving down the main street. Book stores and coffee shops and bakeries drifted past his field of vision, bustling mothers shepherded herds of children, middle-aged businessmen shook hands and sat down to lunch, spritely women in Spandex jogged with their panting Labradors.

"I need you to pick up a few things for me," Mona said, pulling up outside the hardware store. She handed him a shopping list, and he scanned the contents with mounting alarm: hammer, nails, more rope, duct tape, several sharp implements. "Come back to the house once you've finished. I'll be waiting."

Familiar by now with the way Mona worked, and knowing that she wouldn't be willing to answer any questions or hear any excuses, he just nodded, took the list, and disappeared inside. It didn't take long to find everything he was looking for, although the cashier did give him a strange look.

"Big weekend planned, huh?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he coiled up the rope and dropped it into the shopping bag.

"Renovations," Toby said tightly, in no mood for smalltalk. He handed over the money – Mona would reimburse him later – and then grabbed the bags. He was halfway down the street when he had a better idea. He didn't need to go back right away. He had time to stop by the Brew for some coffee. If anyone saw the contents of the bags, he'd be able to pass it off as supplies for his construction work.

While he was waiting in line, he shifted the bags from one arm to the other and looked around. Aria was sitting in their usual booth, tapping her heel impatiently on the floor. He could hear it even from where he stood, and he even heard when she let out an impatient sigh before pulling out her phone. So she was alone, but probably not for long. If he could find a way to drop a hint to her –

As if some unseen deity were looking out for, Aria took that moment to slip off to the bathroom, leaving the booth unattended. She'd left her book behind, though, an old copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, which told him she was coming back. Without giving himself time to think about the implications, he ducked out of the line and hurried over to the booth.

She'd also left a notebook behind, which worked well for him. He pulled a page out and scribbled a note to her, then stuck it inside her book. It wouldn't take her long to find it. As soon as he heard her footsteps he slammed the book closed, collected his coffee, and all but ran out the door.

If he couldn't save Spencer himself, at least he could help someone who could.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**I told you to trust me, didn't I? There is hope for Spoby yet.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So here's the thing. Maybe I'm just being super-sensitive, but I feel like the interest in this story is dwindling. I'm not one for letting a story drag on longer than it should, and I would much rather go out with a bang. This story was originally meant to be the first of three, but if there's minimal interest in this one, I'm not going to pour my time and energy into sequels that may not be read. I have a whole plot planned out, one that will span the three stories and have a pretty shocking conclusion - but judging by the response this story has been getting, especially lately, I'm not sure it's worth the effort. Which is why I may be diverting to my back-up plan; this story ends on a cliffhanger, and it's plausible that the story could stop there, with that twist, so that it's ambiguous and you can make up your own endings. But if people are interested in the sequels, I'm happy enough to write and publish them when I can.**

**This is not a plea for reviews or an attempt to make you feel guilty; it's really not. It's just that I'm juggling a lot of stories, and I need to know where to focus my attention - which will invariably be my more popular fics. If people aren't interested in reading the sequels to this, I'll cut my losses and move on, and maybe see you all in my other stories. But if I feel like people aren't getting bored with this, I may well continue.**

**So let me know, and I'll weigh my options.**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

It had been almost two days since anyone had heard from Spencer.

The girls had looked in all of her usual haunts: the library, the bookstore, her favorite parks. They'd spoken to her teammates from debate and hockey, and none of them had been in contact with her either. For all intents and purposes, Spencer was just _gone_. No trace, no struggle, no clues about where she'd gone.

Aria had agreed to meet Emily and Hanna at the Brew after school. If they were going to find Spencer, they needed to have a gameplan, something more solid than 'look for her'. It wasn't like Spencer to just go off the grid like this, so they had to assume the worst.

It had something to do with A, Aria had been sure of that even before that creepy phone call. She was meant to be going over to Ezra's tonight, but she'd cancelled on him. Spencer needed her more. And she needed to find a way to relocate the other half of Team Sparia before –

She wouldn't let her mind go down that road. She'd already caught herself saying 'if we find her' a couple of times, and had to force herself to change it to 'when'. They would find her, she had to believe that. They'd already lost Ali; they couldn't lose Spencer too. It just wasn't an option.

For the first twenty minutes, Aria waited as patiently as she could. She even drank decaf, just so she would be able to think calmly. But even without the caffeine in her system, she was agitated. She kept finding new things to fiddle with: a packet of sugar, the edge of a napkin, the book she had in her bag. Finally she made herself start reading, trying to focus on the words rather than the growing worry in her chest.

There was nothing she could do until her friends showed up, so she just had to wait. Another ten minutes passed, and they didn't show up, and the words were no longer enough to keep her attention. Frustrated, she let out a sigh and texted Hanna and Emily: **Where are you?**

They both replied within a minute, saying they were on their way. She rolled her eyes and got to her feet, leaving her things behind while she went to the bathroom. The Brew was practically empty, so there was nobody around to take anything. And even if there were, she knew the guy who was working the counter; he was one of Mike's friends, and she knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her stuff.

When she came back, Hanna was walking through the door, and the blonde hurried over to her, an apology written all over her face.

"Don't," Aria said, sitting back down and tapping her fingers on the table. "Don't apologize. Let's just get this over with."

"Right." Hanna looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just redid the straps on her shoes, rested her hands in her lap, and waited.

Emily showed up a couple of minutes later, and Aria couldn't help but notice that her lipstick was smeared. Noticing her looking, Emily ran the back of her hand over her face, rubbing off the lipstick as she sat down across from her friends. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Aria said, looking at her curiously. "We waited for you."

"Okay. I'm going to go get a coffee. You guys want anything?"

Once they all had their drinks, they were forced to confront the real problem: none of them had any idea what to do next.

"So we know where Spencer isn't," Hanna began. "But does that mean we're closer to finding out where she _is_?"

"She could be anywhere," Emily said. "Rosewood, Philly, even further away. A's had her for two days. If they've been traveling that whole time, they could be -"

"Don't even go there," Aria warned. "A said we have until tomorrow to get to her. That means that she must be pretty close by, assuming A isn't just trying to throw us off the scent."

"So, what, she's somewhere in Rosewood?" Hanna twirled a strand of hair around her finger, around and around, the only outlet she could find for her anxiety.

"Probably." Aria placed a hand gently on Hanna's, stilling it before she pulled her hair out.

"If only there was a way to contact A," Emily mused.

"And what, ask nicely and hope they tell us where she is?"

"No," Emily said, defensive. "But we could offer them a deal -"

"We're not making a deal with the devil, Em," Hanna said firmly.

Normally Aria would be the one stepping in, the voice of reason, but she was distracted. In her agitation she'd picked up her book again, and was flicking through it for something to do with her hands. It fell open to a page about halfway through, and sitting right there was a piece of paper.

"Guys," Aria said, but the other two kept arguing. "_Guys_."

"What?" they said simultaneously, turning to her. But all their anger vanished when they realized what she'd found.

"I don't think we need to contact A," Aria said, staring at the note. "I think A contacted us."

"_19 Woodridge Road_," Emily read. "_Spencer's life depends on it_."

Aria scrunched up the note and shoved it in her pocket, then slid her book back into her bag and got to her feet.

"What if it's a trap?" Hanna pointed out.

"I don't care. If there's even a chance it can lead us to Spencer, I'm going to take it."

Without another word she spun on her heel and headed for the door. The other two girls exchanged a look before scurrying after her, and five minutes later they were on the road. Aria stared straight ahead as she drove, desperately hoping that she wasn't too late.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Sorry about that massive AN. I hope you all liked the chapter; there's only one more, plus an epilogue, so we're getting towards the end. What do you guys think will happen? What do you WANT to happen?**

**See you next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**All right, so I got a good response last chapter. Thanks everyone! This is the last actual chapter for this story, and then there's the epilogue. If, after that, people are still interested in reading more, I'm happy to deliver. But if people hate me forever then that's totally understandable. Warning: if you don't want a plot twist, just stop reading at the end of this chapter and assume that there's some kind of happy ending. If you're up for a bit of confusion and chaos, then stick with me. So review away, and I'll see you guys soon!**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

It was eerily dark, and terrifyingly quiet.

Spencer hadn't seen anyone for hours, although it felt like much longer than that. She started to think she'd always been here, that everything she'd thought she'd been through outside of this room was just a figment of her imagination. She also thought she imagined it when she heard voices outside.

She was leaning against the wall, chewing on her thumbnail as she tried to think her way out of this. As far as fortresses went, this one was pretty solid. The windows were actually nailed shut, the door was locked from the outside, and although the wooden walls _looked_ unstable, so far she hadn't managed to break through them. She had contemplated throwing the chair at the walls, or the window, or anything she could reach, but she had a feeling that wouldn't do much good.

She had, however, been able to pull one of the nails out from the wall, and she had that tucked up her sleeve now. She didn't know if she'd have the guts to use it, to actually hurt somebody – _defend herself_, she corrected quietly – with it, but it was reassuring to have it anyway.

At first the noise outside was just a low murmur, no words, no meaning, just noise. It was probably just someone who lived in one of the houses nearby, heading home after a normal day at a normal job. And here she was, being held hostage by a sociopath. But the noise grew louder, yet somehow more hesitant, and she worked out that it wasn't just one voice. There were at least two, possibly three. One of them said something, so loudly it almost made her jump, and then another person hushed them, clearly irritated.

The noise made Spencer even more uneasy than her conversation with Toby earlier. She was still processing what he'd done, but for now she'd have to put that to the back of her mind. One thing at a time. She still hadn't really seen Mona but she didn't doubt that she was the one behind it.

The longer she stood there, immobile, frozen in place, the louder the voices became, and she was suddenly sure she hadn't imagined them. Less than a second after she realized that, something else became clear, like an image coming into focus once you changed the lens. The voices outside weren't just random strangers; they belonged to her friends.

She didn't know how they'd found her, but at that moment she didn't care. Her friends had found her, they were here, and they were going to get her out of this. That was all she needed to know.

After another minute she could hear footsteps, and the voices stopped. Then one of them called out hesitantly, "Spencer?" and someone else snapped, "Quiet, do you _want_ A to hear us?"

Spencer approached the window, looking out. She couldn't see anyone, just a tangle of flowers in the garden and a tree that had lost its leaves. But she knew they were there.

"Guys," she whispered, not entirely sure why she was being so quiet. "Hey. I'm over here."

There was a flurry of movement, and suddenly her friends were standing on the other side of the window, looking in at her, and she had never been happier to see anyone.

"Spence!" Aria exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just get me out of here, okay?"

"Hold on," Emily said, and then the three of them disappeared around the front.

Spencer walked over to the door, and soon enough she heard the sounds of her friends approaching it. As they stood outside and argued about how to get in, she realized that maybe finding her wasn't going to be the most difficult challenge they faced – maybe it would be actually getting her out. Every second that slipped by made Spencer more anxious. A – the A-Team – could come back at any moment, which would not be good for any of them. She focused instead on the whispers of her friends, rather than the thoughts dashing through her head.

"Try turning it that way."

"I already did!"

"What if you try -"

"No, what about -"

There were a number of clicks, a sound like someone slamming heir hand against the door in frustration, and a sigh. Finally there was a more promising noise, and before Spencer even had time to feel hopeful the door had swung open, and her friends were standing on the other side.

Aria had barely got up to "Are you -" before Spencer had tumbled forward into her arms, so relieved that she had finally been found. Aria caught her, stumbling back a couple of steps, and then the smaller girl patted Spencer on the shoulder, while her other two friends joined in on the group hug. Spencer closed her eyes, thinking that no moment had ever been as wonderful as this.

"We should get going," Hanna said after a while. "A could come back."

Spencer disentangled herself from her friends, suddenly remembering where they were. "Right. Come on."

She led the way around the house, and, as expected, there was a car waiting for her. Aria didn't let go of her, even after they slid into the backseat, with Hanna on the other side of Spencer and Emily taking the wheel. As Emily pulled away from the curb, Aria rested her head on Spencer's shoulder.

"I was so scared, Spence. I thought…"

"Hey." Spencer reached up and rested her hand on Aria's head, gently, reassuringly. "You found me. That's the important thing."

"What happened?" Hanna asked, squeezing Spencer's free hand in a comforting way. "I mean, if you're ready to talk about it."

"I'm… not." Spencer said softly, shaking her head. There was no way she was ready to talk about how awful the past two days had been. But she did need to tell her friends what she'd found. Straightening and taking a deep breath, she said, "I did find something out though."

"What was it?" Aria asked, looking up at her.

"I…" Spencer looked around at all of her friends, unsure how to say this. There would be no turning back once she had, but she just had to hope they'd be able to move on. "I know who A is."

"What?" Emily's surprise caused her to jerk the wheel, almost steering the car out of the lane. Once she'd gotten it under control, she met Spencer's eyes in the rear-view mirror and said, more calmly, "Who is it?"

"It's two people," Spencer said hesitantly. It was now or never. She'd made her choice, and now she just had to live with it - and hope the others could too. "One of them… is Mona."

Ignoring Hanna's gasp, Spencer pushed on before she lost her nerve.

"And the other one… is Toby."

Silence fell over the car as threads were connected, clues unravelled, as everything started to make sense. And somehow the silence got deeper as their thoughts turned, as one, to the future, and they realized that they had no idea what they were supposed to do now.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**As always, don't forget to review. I'm excited/terrified to share the next chapter with you, so the more reviews I get the faster I'll have that up.**


	9. Chapter 9

**So here we are. Thanks for sticking with me, especially you lovely few who reviewed. Anyone still interested in the sequel? I hope you all enjoy (?) the final chapter of 'the devil's name'.**

**Plot twist in 3, 2, 1...**

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

The next night, Mona stood in the middle of the empty room, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "So the girls figured it out," she said thoughtfully. She turned around to her black-hooded companion, who was strangely silent. "And how do you suppose that happened?"

The other person didn't say anything, just watched with wary eyes as Mona paced around the room. She took in the tiniest details, from the scuff marks on the floor to the missing nail in the wall, and turned them over in her mind. There was only one conclusion she could come to, and she would do anything to avoid it. To acknowledge it was to admit she had been mistaken, had misjudged someone. God, that was as bad as failing.

"There's no way they worked it out themselves," Mona went on, pacing back and forth; unhurried, simply needing the momentum to help her think. "So that means someone helped them. And who do we know would do that?"

"Mona -"

The dark-haired girl held up her hand, silencing her partner, and carried on pacing, musing as she did so.

"I really hoped I was wrong. But no matter which way I look at it, the facts lead me to the same conclusion." Mona finally came to a stop, meeting her partner's eyes. "_You can trust Toby_, I thought. _There's no way he would betray me_. Well, serves me right for trusting someone."

"You can trust me."

"Can I?" Mona raised an eyebrow, enough to make the other person lower their gaze. "I've been betrayed before, and I know how much it sucks to be lied to."

"I've never lied to you, and I don't intend to start. You know where I stand on this, and why I'm doing it."

"True. But what I don't know is how far you're willing to go."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I need to be sure you're willing to take this as far as I am – as far as it needs to go. Toby failed in his mission, but I still have hope for you."

The other person cocked their eyebrow. "You know how I feel about hope."

Mona's mouth quirked up in a smile, and she was reminded again of why she'd chosen this partnership. She could have chosen any of the girls, but she'd definitely gone for the right one. "True. Still," Mona went on, with a sigh for effect, "we need to decide what to do about Toby."

"I can take care of that. I mean, last time I let you come up with a plan, you decided to make my own boyfriend kidnap me."

"You played the part beautifully, by the way," Mona said.

Spencer smiled, pleased despite herself. "Thank you. Turns out I can play the damsel in distress role quite well – but I much prefer the role where I secretly get to torment my friends."

"That's what I like about you, Spencer. You're not afraid to get your hands dirty."

"It's a shame, though," Spencer continued, after dipping her head to acknowledge the compliment. "That you didn't tell Toby I was on the team. Maybe if he'd known I was a part of it, he wouldn't have been so quick to help the girls."

"You know why we didn't tell him, Spencer. We needed to be sure of his loyalties – and now we are."

Spencer shrugged. "Makes no difference to me. You know why I'm here, and as long as I get what I want I'll do whatever you need me to do. Although, next time, can _you_ be the one getting kidnapped?"

"I'll keep that in mind," Mona laughed, taking one last look around the room to be sure she hadn't missed anything.

"Or," Spencer said, her voice becoming more firm, "can you at least tell me beforehand so I don't think I'm _actually_ being kidnapped?"

"Sure," Mona said, glancing at her. "But to be fair I did at least tell you after you ended up here. I could have left you in the dark the whole time."

"Right. But from now on, how about we just say we're equals? I think I've proven myself to you by now."

"You have," Mona said, closing the door behind her as they emerged into the night. "So we can move forward with the next plan – as partners."

They shared a smile, and then the smaller girl led the way to the car. Once they were seated and on the road, she spoke again.

"And don't worry, I'm not going to cross you." She met Spencer's eyes and smiled. "You'll get your reward."

Spencer leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes for just a moment and revelling in the fact that everything was going to plan.

X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X.X

**Thoughts? Theories? Death threats? Go ahead, I'd love to hear what you think.**


End file.
